For Some Reason.....

[Brookenstein]

There's a great tatoo parlor in Lahaina.  

[Chas]

Chas did.  

"He was so excited..."


Must have been akward sitting in a tiny boat, next to a very excited naked guy.  

Actually, the thing was huge. Absolutely huge.


THE BOAT - I'm talking about the BOAT was huge. Now you've got ME doin' it.

Sheesh.



 8-)

[georgiapeach]

Hey Chas,

What month did you go?  I'm on the fence about the whale watching trip....figured I could see them just as well from my Lanai....LOL...so we'll see.  The Volcano trip was one I was looking forward too....maybe not the 38 mile bike ride back...LOL...yes, I know it's all downhill, but still!!!!  The friends we are going with were there about 5 years ago and they said it was gorgeous....guess you just take your chances on the weather, huh?  Hopefully it will be great weather for us; I'll make sure to let you know!  

Any other suggestions about what to do and where to go?  Did y'all do the Road to Hana thing?  Did you go to any Luau's?  Where did y'all stay?  Sorry to ask so many questions... :-)

Peachy

We went to Maui in 2005. Had a wonderful trip. We went out on the whale watching trip - I didn't think it was worth doing again. I love boats, and being on the water and all, and it was a nice day for it, but we only saw a few whales from a great distance. I have seen much more detail and felt closer by watching a video.

The tour we were on had a naturalist on board, so we couldn't make any jokes or have any fun. He was so excited because aparently one of the black fins we barely saw belonged to an adelescent. I can't remember how he knew, but he did. He, of course, had binoculars... maybe he counted it's rings or something.

But he got so excited - he told us this was rare, and that the mother would be along any moment now. An hour later she hadn't shown up. We finally moved on. Poor little whale - may have been an orphan.

On the way back into the harbor we had to detour to go around a flock of sea turtles. That was cool - I have no idea how the captain saw them, but we were glad he didn't run them down. Would have killed the natrualist I'm very sure. And it would have been a bummer too, of course.

We had a nice buffet on board, and I sure didn't see anyone getting sick. The boat was a catarmaran and very stable, even when we were stopped.

We had a rental car, and we did all the touristy things. One thing we were very bummed about - the trip up to the top of the volcano. We looked up at the thing in the morning, and it was clouded over. I knew it, and the travel folks had to know it. It had been that way every morning since we arrived. But they didn't offer us any option - we were booked so we went.

When we got there, we saw the inside of a cloud. It was so bad that we actually could not clearly see the back end of the 40' long bus when standing in front of it. We stopped at one point on the way down when we got a break in the clouds. It made for some nice photo-ops, but the rest of the trip was a complete waste of time.

Lunch was nice...

 8-)

[georgiapeach]

Uummm....thanks for the info Brookenstein....LOL....My daughter would love it if she were going!  LOL....she says I suck because I'm not taking her...oh well!  This is our first real vacation without her!  

There's a great tatoo parlor in Lahaina.  

[georgiapeach]

Thanks pg_rider!  Needed some thoughts about places to eat!  :-)

Peachy

Whatever you do, make sure you see Warren & Annabelle's Magic Show in Lahaina.  You'll be hurting from laughter at the end... great show.  And may I recommend having dinner beforehand at the Ruth's Chris Steakhouse a block away.

[Chas]

Hey Chas,What month did you go?  I'm on the fence about the whale watching trip....figured I could see them just as well from my Lanai....LOL...so we'll see.  The Volcano trip was one I was looking forward too....maybe not the 38 mile bike ride back...LOL...yes, I know it's all downhill, but still!!!!  The friends we are going with were there about 5 years ago and they said it was gorgeous....guess you just take your chances on the weather, huh?  Hopefully it will be great weather for us; I'll make sure to let you know!  

Any other suggestions about what to do and where to go?  Did y'all do the Road to Hana thing?  Did you go to any Luau's?  Where did y'all stay?  Sorry to ask so many questions...

We went in February. The bike ride down was NOT all downhill. There were a few uphill sections that had to be pedalled. I didn't do it, but the folks from our group who did were drenched by the time they got to lunch. First because of the misty wet air, then later as the sun broke through they got hot and sweaty.

I don't go on vacation to hurt myself, so I took the air conditioned bus up and down on that one.

As far as the whale-watching trip: The law says they can't maneuver the boat within some huge distance of the Whales. That makes seeing them pretty hard. If they shut off the boat and the Whales come near the vessel, then that's ok, and you get a great show. But just don't count on that happening. Don't go unless you have a group of friends going with, and unless you really like to be in a boat out on the water.

We ate at Joes and Hali’imaile General Store - both owned by Bev Gannon. Bev came to one of the special nights at the hotel - "A taste of Maui" or somesuch. They had all the gormet chefs from the island and we could sample everything. Her food was absolutely wonderful, so we had to go. Don't miss out - try at least one.

OH - there is a Costco right near the airport. Don't pack stuff you can buy there...

 8-)

[Chad]

I have an uncle who lived in Maui for 2 years.
He works in the BAC like me.
Tile/stone setters are in high demand over there.
He would still be there but his 13 year old daughter couldn't ajust.
I know....how could not adjust to Maui?
She leaves for college this fall and guess where my uncle is heading too?
I can't tell you how many times he's told me that if you don't live there you're a jacka$$. He's jokin' of course, well not really but that's just how he is. He'll tell you exactly how he feels no matter what. He's quite the character. He also likes their Maui Waui. 8-)

Btw, he says that one side of the island (where he lived) gets exceptional weather year round and the other side isn't as nice. I can't remember which side?

[georgiapeach]

Thanks for the info Chas!!!!  I'm beginning to wonder about this Sunrise Haleakala Crater trip!  I will definitely let y'all know if this was worth it or not, since according to our friends going with us, we are going to do it...LOL

I did like this quote from you though!  

 "I don't go on vacation to hurt myself, so I took the air conditioned bus up and down on that one."

Don't you have to be a member of Costco to use it?  Like we have a Sams Club here, but you gotta be a member.  

3 MORE DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :-)

We went in February. The bike ride down was NOT all downhill. There were a few uphill sections that had to be pedalled. I didn't do it, but the folks from our group who did were drenched by the time they got to lunch. First because of the misty wet air, then later as the sun broke through they got hot and sweaty.

I don't go on vacation to hurt myself, so I took the air conditioned bus up and down on that one.

As far as the whale-watching trip: The law says they can't maneuver the boat within some huge distance of the Whales. That makes seeing them pretty hard. If they shut off the boat and the Whales come near the vessel, then that's ok, and you get a great show. But just don't count on that happening. Don't go unless you have a group of friends going with, and unless you really like to be in a boat out on the water.

We ate at Joes and Hali’imaile General Store - both owned by Bev Gannon. Bev came to one of the special nights at the hotel - "A taste of Maui" or somesuch. They had all the gormet chefs from the island and we could sample everything. Her food was absolutely wonderful, so we had to go. Don't miss out - try at least one.

OH - there is a Costco right near the airport. Don't pack stuff you can buy there...

 8-)

[georgiapeach]

We will be on the West side of Maui.  
And how could anyone not adjust to Maui? Okay, I've only seen pictures, so I guess I can't say that yet!  But I don't think I'll have a problem adjusting!  :-)

I have an uncle who lived in Maui for 2 years.
He works in the BAC like me.
Tile/stone setters are in high demand over there.
He would still be there but his 13 year old daughter couldn't ajust.
I know....how could not adjust to Maui?
She leaves for college this fall and guess where my uncle is heading too?
I can't tell you how many times he's told me that if you don't live there you're a jacka$$. He's jokin' of course, well not really but that's just how he is. He'll tell you exactly how he feels no matter what. He's quite the character. He also likes their Maui Waui. 8-)

Btw, he says that one side of the island (where he lived) gets exceptional weather year round and the other side isn't as nice. I can't remember which side?

[hotubinn]

I went to Maui a few years ago, during April.  Saw some whales from the Lanai.  Sounds like you have a lot of stuff planned, hope you are going for weeks!!  The road to Hana is LOOONG, so be prepared.  We found we had too much planned, and spent our days exhausted!  Have fun

[Gomboman]

Chas, is there a HS dealer in Lahaina? If not, I will sign up for the location.  

We went in February. The bike ride down was NOT all downhill. There were a few uphill sections that had to be pedalled. I didn't do it, but the folks from our group who did were drenched by the time they got to lunch. First because of the misty wet air, then later as the sun broke through they got hot and sweaty.

I don't go on vacation to hurt myself, so I took the air conditioned bus up and down on that one.

As far as the whale-watching trip: The law says they can't maneuver the boat within some huge distance of the Whales. That makes seeing them pretty hard. If they shut off the boat and the Whales come near the vessel, then that's ok, and you get a great show. But just don't count on that happening. Don't go unless you have a group of friends going with, and unless you really like to be in a boat out on the water.

We ate at Joes and Hali’imaile General Store - both owned by Bev Gannon. Bev came to one of the special nights at the hotel - "A taste of Maui" or somesuch. They had all the gormet chefs from the island and we could sample everything. Her food was absolutely wonderful, so we had to go. Don't miss out - try at least one.

OH - there is a Costco right near the airport. Don't pack stuff you can buy there...

 8-)

[Bama]

I would make a point to travel to the other less commercialized islands.    I have seen the whales mating and yes they begin sometime late November to early March.
I think the best times are January and Febuary, for two reasons...
1) whales are in full season during these two months
2) get away from home to a warmer climate during the coldest two months in the lower 48.  

I'm the idiot you saw out there in the ocean riding the waves, when everyone else had evacuated the beach due to 9' to 15' waves!  
I don't recommend that to anyone!

Bama

[Chas]

Don't you have to be a member of Costco to use it?

Yes, and it might be worth it. I don't know if they have a temporary card available or not, but it might be worth checking into it. All the beach stuff and other touristy items are there - I found it very funny that as we drove from the airport to the hotel, the first place we stopped was Costco. I have photos.

And no, that one didn't have any spas on display.

Sam's Club is much more welcoming than Costco in my experience. I can remember driving into the parking lot of my local Coscto to find it was closed once. Some off-brand holiday like Arbor Day or something. But there was a crowd of cars near the door and people running around, so we cruised over to see what was up.

There were employees from the nearby Sam's Club handing out free one-day passes to Sam's Club. THEY were open and proud to be. They just wanted everyone who needed 100 pound bags of Skittles to be able to get their fix, and hey - try out Sam's Club while you're at it. Some of them were even holding signs.

Also, one time I got real fried at Costco. I walked into Sam's club and put my Costco card on the counter. As they signed me up for memebership, they added the length of time I had left at Costco for free. I had close to a year, so I got almost two-for-one.

Never seen Costco offer the reverse - anyone else?

 8-)

[Chas]

Chas, is there a HS dealer in Lahaina? If not, I will sign up for the location.  

I know there was one on Kauai, I visited that one years ago. Very small, but nice-looking showroom. They had some nice art objects, one or two spas, and were running a pool service company out back.

I don't recall seeing one on Maui.

 8-)